Taliban government rejects internet ban, citing Afghanistan's 'decaying' fiber optic line led to shutdown

By Aamir Latif and Saadet Gokce

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Afghanistan's interim government on Wednesday denied reports of a ban on the internet, insisting nationwide disruptions are caused by a "decaying" fiber optic line that is being replaced.

The Taliban government's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the "old" fiber optic infrastructure in Afghanistan has "completely" decayed and is being replaced.

"There is nothing like that we have banned internet in the country," Mujahid said in a post on the US social media company X, rejecting such reports as mere "rumors."

Internet and mobile phone networks remained shut down across Afghanistan on Tuesday, leaving millions without access to communication.

The outage that began late Monday also affected flight operations at Kabul airport.

According to NetBlocks, a global network monitoring group, connectivity dropped to near zero, with both internet and phone services disabled in stages throughout the night.